Baroness Andrews: My right honourable friend the Minister for Housing and Planning has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am making a further Statement today on how the Government intend to implement the remaining provisions of the EU energy performance of buildings directive in order to encourage the reduction of energy consumption and associated carbon emissions arising from the use of buildings.
	Nearly 50 per cent of the UK's emissions are generated through the way we heat, light and use our buildings. The Government's climate change agenda recognises that comparatively minor changes to the ways in which we construct and use buildings can have a large cumulative effect.
	These measures aim to ensure that appropriate energy performance information is made available to enable people to make informed choices when buying or renting new or existing buildings.
	Last September, the Government announced that there would be an amendment to Part L of the building regulations to raise energy efficiency standards and at the same time implement Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the energy performance of buildings directive in England and Wales. These changes, which improve building energy efficiency standards by 40 per cent over 2002, came into force on 6 April 2006 and are being supported by a comprehensive dissemination and training programme to help industry and building control bodies comply with them. This amendment sets out national methods for calculating energy performance, and tougher energy efficiency standards for building work. It is the Government's intention to adopt Reduced Data SAP (RDSAP) a simplified SAP methodology for the assessment of existing dwellings including the energy performance certificate for HIPs.
	For the remaining provisions of the European directive, we need to ensure that there are sufficient qualified and/or accredited surveyors and appropriate procedures in place. The directive allows a three-year derogation to apply fully the requirements for energy certificates and plant inspections and we are working with stakeholders to ensure that sufficient numbers of trained inspectors are in place to support a phased programme of implementation. We are rolling out this programme shortly with energy certificates in home information packs and making a separate Statement about this today.
	We will adopt a system of calculated asset ratings when energy performance certificates are required upon construction, sale or rent and to allow for the use of "operational" ratings, derived from measured energy consumption, for those obliged to provide certificates for public display. We are engaging with other government departments over the implementation and particular display requirements.
	Public display will initially be for buildings over 1,000 square metres occupied by public authorities and by institutions providing publicly funded services to large numbers of persons. This is important as the public sector should be seen to be taking the lead in respect of disseminating energy performance and actively seeking ways of reducing its energy consumption.
	We are committed to widening the display requirement to all public and private sector buildings where it can be demonstrated that this is cost-effective to do so. We shall be publicly consulting on this to take full account of stakeholders' views.
	In September last year, the Government signalled that we would develop a system of nationally recognised qualifications for those wishing to practise as building, boiler plant and air conditioning plant energy surveyors.
	This process is under way and a national occupational standard has already been created that covers energy certification of dwellings at the point of marketed sale. There are over 4,000 home inspectors who are undergoing training to support the introduction of the home information pack that will become mandatory from June 2007. We are now working with the appropriate sector skills councils and industry stakeholders to expand this across other sectors.
	Preparatory work for the phased programme of implementation has been proceeding, involving key stakeholders from across both industry and consumer organisations and we will increasingly be working with these groups to finalise the details of the phasing programme and other aspects of the implementation. As this work matures, the Government plan to lay a statutory instrument in early 2007 to transpose the directive into law.
	Over time, most business owners, home owners and tenants are likely to be affected by the directive in some way and it is of considerable importance that they are fully aware of developments in this area. To this end, we shall also shortly be initiating a programme of communication aimed at the different sectors involved.
	Ministers in Scotland and Northern Ireland are responsible for the implementation of the directive in their regions.

Lord Davies of Oldham: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Derek Twigg) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
	The Government are aware of the concerns that have been expressed by the London Borough of Havering and others in the borough about the impacts of the proposed Crossrail train depot at Romford. Cross London Rail Links (CLRL) have been working for many months to reduce those impacts and at the same time to identify whether there is a viable alternative depot strategy that would remove the need for facilities at Romford altogether.
	Following a fundamental review of its depot strategy, in the light of changes in the occupation and expected future use of existing depots, CLRL has concluded that it is possible for Crossrail to operate entirely from the existing rail depots at Old Oak Common in west London and Ilford in east London. As a result Crossrail would not need to construct any of the proposed facilities at Romford or to make use of sidings at West Drayton in the London Borough of Hillingdon.
	The revised depot strategy will reduce the overall environmental impacts of the Crossrail project by removing the need for the construction of new facilities at Romford. CLRL estimates that the cost of the revised strategy will be up to £80 million lower than that of the Romford scheme.
	The revised strategy will require the acquisition of a small amount of open land at Old Oak Common to allow for improved rail access. The land lost will be replaced by an equivalent amount from an adjacent brownfield site.
	In order to implement the revised strategy, the Bill will need to be amended. The Government will promote an additional provision in due course (including a detailed environmental assessment), which will be subject to the agreement of the Select Committee. Those affected by the additional provision will be able to petition Parliament.
	As part of the revised strategy, it is proposed to move EWS Limited from Old Oak Common to the North Pole depot, which is to become vacant in 2007. It is also proposed to move Bombardier Transportation Limited from, or within, the Ilford Depot. CLRL will continue to work closely with these organisations to try to minimise the impacts upon them.
	CLRL will in due course write to existing petitioners affected by this announcement and undertake information rounds in relevant areas to explain the details of the revised depot strategy and the implications for the local area.

Baroness Andrews: My right honourable friend the Minister for Housing and Planning has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I have today laid before Parliament the Home Information Pack Regulations 2006, made under the Housing Act 2004. This is a key milestone for the introduction of home information packs throughout England and Wales from 1 June 2007.
	The regulations prescribe the contents of home information packs. They provide for exceptions from the home information pack duties, and make provision for the approval of certification schemes in connection with home condition reports. The regulations also make transitional provision for homes already on the market when the home information pack duties come into force, and specify the level of penalty charge that may be levied where these are breached.
	Making the regulations a year ahead of the home information pack duties coming into force ensures that the industry has good time to prepare for the introduction of packs, including processes for assembling and supplying pack documents which comply with the regulations and bring genuine benefits for consumers. It also enables the Secretary of State to approve certification schemes required to ensure that there are enough home inspectors qualified and able to prepare home condition reports.
	The regulations and the principles underlying them have been the subject of extensive consultation with the industry and consumers. Consideration of consultation responses and drafting of the regulations have been undertaken in close consultation with consumer and industry organisations including Which?, The Law Society, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, National Association of Estate Agents and the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
	The detailed content of home information packs prescribed in the regulations will be tested fully during the dry-run or phased implementation being undertaken over the next few months, as well as through further discussions with stakeholders, so that lessons can be learnt and any changes made in time for full implementation next year. Home information packs aim to deliver:
	a reduction in waste and duplication because different buyers will not have to pay several times for the same information—especially when sales fall through;
	a reduction in the number of failed transactions because information on the condition of the property is available at the beginning, rather than problems emerging late in the day;
	fewer delays because information is provided at the beginning;
	increased competition and transparency in the market;
	better energy efficiency information on homes with practical information on how to cut fuel bills and costs for first-time buyers;
	reduced costs for first-time buyers who will get HIPs for free as costs are transferred from buyers to sellers: and
	improved redress arrangements for consumers when things go wrong. All estate agents marketing homes with home information packs will be required to belong to an approved independent redress scheme.
	The industry is already developing home information pack systems and intends to market these well in advance of the packs becoming mandatory. An increasing number of estate agents and property professionals are already providing partial packs on a voluntary basis. These developments, backed by the regulations, mean that sellers and buyers will not have to wait until June 2007 before they can benefit from the improvements that the packs will deliver to the home buying and selling process.
	The Government have also published the standards for the certification schemes for home inspectors. These will ensure that home inspectors are properly qualified and have proper industry insurance so that buyers, sellers and lenders can have full confidence in the home condition report.
	Once the certification schemes are in place later in the year, the dry-run of voluntary home information packs will accelerate. The government will ensure there is extensive assessment and monitoring of the dry-run.
	Guidance on the regulations and an assessment of the impact of the introduction of home information packs are being published on the dedicated website www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1500716. Copies will be available in the Libraries of both Houses.

Lord Drayson: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Tom Watson) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Key targets for the financial year 2006–07 for the following Ministry of Defence agencies and trading funds have been placed in the Library of the House:
	The Defence Bills Agency Defence Estates
	The Defence Medical Education and Training Agency
	The Defence Procurement Agency
	The Defence Vetting Agency
	The Duke of York's Royal Military School
	The Meteorological Office
	Service Children's Education
	The UK Hydrographic Office.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Gerry Sutcliffe) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am pleased to announce today that the Government have issued two publications. One is a consultation document on guidance for conducting domestic homicide reviews across England and Wales, under the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 and the second is our annual domestic violence progress report. Copies of both publications have been placed in the Library and are also available from the crime reduction website at www.crimereduction.gov.uk/dv01.htm. These publications are the latest phase in a long line of work aimed at tackling domestic violence, a crime that ruins families and devastates lives.
	Section 9 of the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004, establishes a statutory basis for conducting domestic homicide reviews. The Act imposes a duty on named agencies to have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State as to establishing or conducting such reviews. The named agencies are: chief police officers; local probation boards; local authorities; strategic health authorities; primary care trusts; local health boards; and NHS trusts.
	Under the Act, a domestic homicide review is defined as a review of the circumstances in which the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by:
	(a) a person to whom he was related or with whom he was or had been in an intimate personal relationship, or
	(b) a member of the same household as himself,
	held with a view to identifying the lessons to be learnt from the death. In practice this will include:
	identifying the lessons to be learnt from the death, in particular about how local professionals and agencies work together to safeguard victims;
	identifying how those lessons will be acted upon and what is expected to change as a result; and
	improving inter-agency working and improving protection for domestic violence victims to help prevent future deaths.
	Domestic homicide reviews are designed to complement the existing serious case reviews (SCRs) that take place when a child dies or is seriously injured and abuse or neglect is known or suspected to have played a part in the death or serious injury.
	The Government want to ensure that the reviews do not simply become a bureaucratic exercise. We will want to ensure that local agencies learn the lessons and implement any recommendations made by the reviews, and that findings with national relevance are shared and acted upon.
	The consultation period will end on 13 September 2006.
	The Domestic Violence Progress Report provides an update on the comprehensive framework set out in last year's national delivery plan for domestic violence and the Government's achievements on this. All the achievements outlined in the delivery plan have only been possible because of the close partnership working across government and with the support and help of the public, private and non-government sectors. Future developments are predicated upon partnership making. It also looks forward to activities planned in 2006–07 and gives direction to local partnerships, agencies and communities on how to protect adult and child victims of domestic violence and bring perpetrators to justice.